Ofcom cracks down on ISP traffic management

British telecoms watchdog Ofcom has called on internet service providers to provide more information regarding traffic management the ISPs use to curb excessive demand.

The call was made with the warning that if ISPs did not provide such information voluntarily then the watchdog would consider enforcement action to compel the ISPs to get in line.

Ina statementOfcom went further to say that it was possible that ISPs could offer a restricted service, as indeed they do, so long as the providers went to lengths to provide the information to allow consumers to make informed decisions.

The regulator also appeared to draw a line under the maximum level of traffic shaping possible by suggesting that there should always be sufficient bandwidth to provide decent internet access. If that doesn’t happen, Ofcom could look to imposing minimum quality of service standards on ISPs.

PCR has more details on the story.